Three local online shopping companies have become a unified brand as part of their parent company’s strategy to build a strong e-commerce brand across Africa.

The e-commerce companies, previously Kaymu, HelloFood and Lamudi, were part of nine brands belonging to Africa Internet Group which have now become Jumia to attract more traffic to a single online platform.

However, network outages, low Internet penetration rate, lack of trust from locals about online shopping and perception that their business targets only elite, middle and upper class are some challenges local online shopping companies face.

“We also face challenges in terms of growth (our expectation is 10 per cent month-on-month), given that many people think the food listed on the platform is too expensive,” said Alissa Orlando, managing director of Jumia Food.

“The perception that this rebrand was to support failing brands is completely untrue. Obviously some brands are larger than others, but a smaller venture in terms of transactions can actually be more profitable than a venture with greater pass-through,” explained Ms Orlando.

Their parent Jumia Group is said to be valued at $1 billion. Jumia, which has become “Jumia Market,” is doing well in larger markets like Kenya and Nigeria.

“Other company brands will leverage on Jumia the very strong consumer brand, synonymous with getting products and services online in Africa. We will increase referral traffic from other countries and other ventures,” said Ms Orlando.

The new connected single platform is expected to reduce time spent browsing, as all nine brands are available at one website.

However, online shoppers are more interested in price reduction and convenience than website browsing experience.